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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317207">A very merry Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangerthingswasntthatgood/pseuds/strangerthingswasntthatgood'>strangerthingswasntthatgood</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, F/F, Fluff, unedited</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:26:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangerthingswasntthatgood/pseuds/strangerthingswasntthatgood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The guys celebrate Christmas and Andy have found a very special gift for Quynh.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Andy | Andromache of Scythia &amp; Quynh | Noriko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A very merry Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilolilyrae/gifts">lilolilyrae</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy holidays, everyone! I wrote this before I fell asleep last night and it’s not edited in ANY way. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense! It was fun writing, though.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A lot of things had changed since they last saw each other. Quynh had lost weight, her hair had grown longer and her nails were still split and dry. Joe and Nicky had gotten married. Nile and Booker had joined them. Andy was… mortal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   But at least Christmas was almost the same. It wasn’t so much about Jesus’ birth anymore, but the food was mostly the same and they had exchanged gifts already before Quynh was taken. They always went to church with Nicky, even now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Then there was the business with the tree and the million lights, not to mention Santa and coming down the chimney. Quynh had looked terrified when Andy told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Christmas was somewhat of a break from the new things for Quynh and something of a relief for Andy because she didn’t have to try to explain anything. Except for Santa, of course, and Joe had thankfully taken over after the chimney part.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   They had gone to bed early last night. Quynh had been adorably excited to go to church and to eat something she actually remembered. All the lights and the snow had had her mesmerized since they were put up and it was like watching a kid in a candy store. It made Andy’s heart beat just a little faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   They laid together when the door to their bedroom opened. It was just a crack, just enough for Nicky to stick his head inside. Quynh was still fast asleep, but Andy glanced over her shoulder to have a look at him. He smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “It’s time to wake up”, he whispered, as if to not wake Quynh. “Shower’s yours, Boss. I’ll make breakfast in the meantime.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Andy left the bathroom, she could hear cheerful voices in the kitchen. Her lips pulled up in a smile already before she got to see them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Joe and Nicky had their hands entwined under the table. Nicky and Nile talked about how Nile’s family used to celebrate Christmas. Joe and Quynh discussed what they most looked forward to eating. Booker sat with his arms crossed over his chest and looked so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>calm</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Andy understood. He had been alone only for nine months, but Andy knew what he had felt like. And no one was supposed to be alone for Christmas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Hey, Boss”, Joe’s smile only grew at the sight of her. “Merry Christmas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy let out a small laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Merry Christmas, Yusuf. You coming to church with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Joe nodded and glanced back at Joe, his whole body smiling at this point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “I have to prove to Nicky that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> the verse they read at Christmas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Nicky and Joe immediately began talking about it. Andy sat down at the empty chair, between Quynh and Booker. Her plate was already filled to the brim with waffles, berries, and syrup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Merry Christmas”, she whispered to Quynh, ignoring Nicky and Joe’s heated argument. When she pulled back, she gently punched Booker’s shoulder to get his attention. “You, too, Book. Merry Christmas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Booker rolled his eyes fondly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy gave Nile a nod and she smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The service was beautiful. Quynh quickly came over the initial shock that it wasn’t all in Latin. Joe whispered in Nicky’s ear almost the entire time, clearly to show Nicky that he did remember the verses. Nile attentively listened and Booker sat with his head bowed, hands clasped together. Andy had never seen him pray, exactly, but she knew he did. She knew he didn’t believe to the extent that Nicky did, but it had helped when his family had passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Presents!” Nile nearly screamed when they came back to the safe house. Andy chuckled. It was during these times that Andy could tell just how young Nile really was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Nile dashed off and by the time the rest of them came to the living room, she sat with her legs crossed in front of the tree and was eagerly reading on the labels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy sat in the same corner as she always did. Quynh sat right next to her and Joe and Nicky squeezed down next to them. Booker sat in an armchair close to the open fire, casually starting a fire as Nile handed out the Christmas gifts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “I have something for you”, Andy turned to Quynh. “For later. I’ll show you tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Quynh’s cheeks flushed just a shade darker and leaned into Andy’s side. They both watched Nile as she tore open her presents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Ohhh”, Nile held up her first gift, her eyes nearly tinkering. “Thank you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   She held up the camera and snapped a picture. Any other time, Andy would’ve told her not to. It would make everything more difficult, but… if Nile promised to keep the pictures to herself, then she thought it would be fine. It had been Quynh’s idea, when Andy had told her about cameras. It would be a way to remember everyone she cared for, Quynh had said. Even hundreds of years from now. And Andy agreed. She knew it would’ve helped a lot if she had had a picture of Quynh two hundred years ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Booker had gotten her a Pissarro that Nile hadn’t been able to stop talking about. When she realised that it was, in fact, the original, she was so close to tears Andy genuinely thought she’d cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   From Nicky and Joe she had gotten enough art supplies to last her a lifetime. Joe and Nile had gotten awfully close and Joe was slowly teaching her everything he knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Thank you”, Nile’s voice was just barely above a whisper. “I-... I wasn’t sure if Christmas would still… feel like Christmas and… you’ve made it feel really special.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy didn’t really pay attention when the others opened their gifts. She couldn’t wait to go back to hers and Quynh’s bedroom. There was something there that the others wouldn’t understand. That they wouldn’t remember. But Quynh would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “One last gift”, Joe said finally, and Nile scrambled to her feet. She left the room and soon returned with a neatly wrapped gift, shyly handing it over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “It’s from all of us”, she said and Andy took it in her hands. It was heavy and she realised the same second Nile gave it to her that it had to be a book. She carefully ripped the paper and had to bite back a small laugh when she saw the album.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Open it”, Quynh said, as she nudged her side. “Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy did. The first picture, which really wasn’t a picture at all, was a drawing of Lykon. Joe’s handy work, no doubt. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again. She didn’t have any words. She flipped the page over and she could feel tears burn behind her eyelids as she gently ran a finger over the drawn pictures. Another one of Lykon, then one of Lykon and Quynh. She turned page again. A man she had loved long before she and Quynh admitted their feelings for one another. Then another one of Quynh. It continued. People she had loved, all over history. Joe had made his fair share of artworks, but Andy was sure Nile had contributed. Quynh must have told them what everyone had looked like. She laughed at the drawing of a man in the very middle of the book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Hector”, she whispered and ran her fingers over his cheek. The very last pictures were of them all. Together. Nile had insisted they took it, when they picked up Booker from Paris.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Thank you”, she whispered. Her voice broke towards the end. “I don’t know what to say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “You don’t have to say anything”, Quynh told her softly. “We love you. You deserve the very best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy had another look at the picture of them all, before she slowly closed the book. She hugged it close to her chest, as if it held all the love she had once given away. Perhaps it did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Group hug?” Joe asked, suddenly, and Andy stood. It was a nice habit of his. Whenever Andy truly needed it, he had begun asking if she wanted a hug. It had begun just after Quynh was taken.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   She stood and stumbled right into his arms, soon with Nicky pressed to her one side and Nile the other. Booker and Quynh joined, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but she wasn’t sure she had ever felt this loved before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Alright”, Nicky said, sometime later. “I really have to get the turkey in the oven, or we won’t have anything to eat tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy laughed. Slowly, they moved away from her. She watched Nile follow Nicky to the kitchen and Booker and Joe sat back down where they had been just now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Quynh?” She asked softly and motioned towards their bedroom. Quynh gathered their things, quickly, before she followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy very carefully placed the album in their bookshelf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “When…?” She began, as Quynh entered the room. She smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “You sleep a lot more, they say. We’ve done it when you’ve been asleep, or out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy opened her arms as if to ask if Quynh would hug her again, and she did. They took their time, standing in each other’s arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “My turn”, Quynh said. “What did you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Oh”, Andy nodded, as if she just remembered, and reluctantly pulled away from her wife. She knelt by the bed and pulled out a shoebox. She opened it with ease and pulled out a linen wrapped gift. She rose and walked back to Quynh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “It’s not new”, Andy warned, as she handed it over. “But I think you’ll like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Very, very carefully, Quynh pulled the linen from the gift. Soon, a gold plated dagger was revealed within the fabric. Quynh gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Is it ...?” She began, as she carefully took the dagger in her other hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   When Quynh looked up at her, her eyes were filled with tears and she quickly leaned in to kiss her. Their lips touched for just a second, before Andy pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “Listen, please”, she whispered, as she took Quynh’s empty hand in both hers. “When I gave you this dagger the first time… I told you that I would love you forever. That hasn’t changed, Quynh. You’re still my wife. You’re still </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to me, and… I want you to always remember that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Quynh laughed softly. She leaned back in to hug Andy again, gently humming the tune they had played on their wedding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “I thought it was lost”, Quynh said. “I suppose I’ll have to find your wedding gift too, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy shooter her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “I never-... I never lost them. I’ve had them tucked away, since you were taken. I wanted you to have it back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Quynh’s lips brushed against Andy’s again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “I love you”, she whispered in a long forgotten language only they knew now. “I love you and you’ll be my wife with or without this gift. Seeing you smile again, was worth every second in the water. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   Andy leaned in for a proper kiss. She placed her hand atop Quynh’s, which still clutched the dagger. Like the day Andy had first given it to Quynh, on their wedding night, under the open sky with only the gods watching, it meant forever. And it would be.</span>
</p><p> </p>
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